Author's Note: Hey guys! So this is my first published story on here. I'd love to hear some feedback on what you think of it, and I'll be sure to keep updating with more chapters from here on out! The story starts off a little ways into the Road To Ninja Movie, with Naruto being upset about all his friends receiving recommendations for Jonin promotions. It's a story I've had in my head for a while now, and I'm excited to write it down and share it with all of you. Please, enjoy!
Disclaimer: All characters and terms and locations belong to Masashi Kishimoto, I am but a humble fan of his work.
Chapter 1
"Hey, I'm home!" Naruto shouted with a half-hearted yell. He opened the door to his apartment to find the place completely empty, save for the trash and dirty clothes littered all over his floor. Any excitement he had was quickly extinguished. I don't know what I was expecting. He thought. I don't have any parents. There's no one to recommend me for Jonin. "Whatever." He sighed out sadly. ...Wait a second! He thought to himself, as a brilliant idea came to mind. There is somebody who can recommend me! Naruto's heart was beating quickly again as he raced back out his door. Hope was flooding his heart as a familiar brown-haired ponytail came walking into sight.
The light was especially blinding that night at Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto thought to himself as he pushed through the curtained banner in front of the counter. Teuchi was busy cooking with his back turned, already preparing a meal for his favorite customer.
"So, what did you wanna talk about?" Iruka asked as he sat down, looking at Naruto with his familiar kind-hearted smile. Teuchi placed two glasses of water down for his guests.
No point in beating around the bush. "Uh, Iruka sensei, listen. You think you can submit a Jonin application for me?" Naruto asked meekly. No matter what, Naruto couldn't help feeling like the young academy student he used to be when sitting next to Iruka.
Iruka's face quickly changed to a more stern look as he asked "What?".
Feeling more nervous than ever, Naruto looked away, unable to maintain eye contact. "It's just that all my other classmates are gonna have their parents fill out applications for them… Well, uh, I uh…" Naruto trailed off.
"Nope. Sorry, I won't." Iruka stated firmly.
Hurt by his answer, Naruto looked back to his former teacher. "But why not?"
"Because THAT step is supposed to come AFTER you become a CHUNIN." Iruka answered, being extra sure to emphasize his point. "Sure you saved us from Pain, and everyone calls you 'The Hero of the Hidden Leaf' but I can't give you special treatment." Naruto set his face in his hand, obviously annoyed by the lecture already and trying to physically ignore his teacher. Unphased, Iruka continued. "I mean, even your dad worked his way up the ranks. From Genin, to Chunin, to Jonin, to become Hokage. Then he went on to become a hero."
Naruto angrily spat out "And become just a face carved into a rock." Iruka found himself glaring down at his former pupil. "But you know what? Rocks can't welcome you home…"
Feeling concerned for Naruto, Iruka said his name softly almost without thinking as Naruto continued on.
"Can I tell you something? What I think about sometimes? He shouldn't have become a hero carved into a rock, he should have just stayed put somewhere so he could say 'Welcome home!' to me." Naruto bowed his head down onto the counter as if the weight of this reality were physically pushing him down. With water fighting to surface in his eyes, Naruto kept going. "Iruka sensei... Your parents-"
Enraged at the direction Naruto was heading, Iruka shouted "Cut it out! Enough!" Iruka was half standing at this point and leaning on his elbow menacingly towards Naruto, who had leaned away in surprise. Iruka sighed as he regained his composure and sat back down. "What's going on with you today?"
"Just forget it." Naruto whispered dejectedly, looking away. Thankfully, Teuchi interrupted the soon to be awkward silence with his annunciation of the now-ready food.
"Sorry about the wait." Teuchi said brightly. "Here's some barbecue pork for you, Naruto." He smiled as he placed the bowl directly in front of the blond. Naruto looked down at the bowl, his anger seeming to multiply by the second as he studied the meal in front of him.
"Hey old man, there isn't any naruto fish cake in this." Naruto said, spite cloaking his tone.
"Ah yeah, sorry 'bout that." Teuchi said, being reminded of this himself. "We're all out. I just put a whole bunch of menma in there for ya' instead." Teuchi sounded as happy as he always did as he pointed towards the menu, which held an "All out!" sign over the fish cake.
Standing in a rage, Naruto yelled out "Are you kidding?! I hate menma! What in the hell is this crap made from, anyway?! It's just so gross!" Iruka was becoming equally infuriated as Naruto's blatant disrespect continued, none of which Teuchi seemed to notice.
"Well actually," Teuchi explained. "You take bamboo chutes, ferment 'em, and then ya-"
"Great, so it's rotten bamboo leaves." Naruto interrupted the kind old man as he crossed his arms and turned his back.
Standing up, Iruka yelled "You're the only thing that's rotten here!" as he pointed in Naruto's face, much as he used to years ago. This time, Naruto didn't back away and stared straight into Iruka's lecturing gaze as if to challenge him in defiance. Iruka became angrier and grabbed Naruto by the shoulders as they tensed every muscle in their bodies.
Noticing the clenched fists, Teuchi held out his arms as if he was trying to physically separate the two, although much too far away to do so. "Hey hey! No fighting in the shop!"
Iruka let down his arms and backed away, keeping his eyes fixed on Naruto's. "Ramen without any naruto in it, isn't really what I call ramen at all." Naruto said, slamming some loose change on the counter before running out of the shop… Leaving Iruka to cover the rest of the bill.
"Why do you always have to be so rebellious?" Were the next words Naruto heard, coming from a nearby window. Looking around, he realized he was standing outside Sakura's house and the yelling voice was Sakura's mom.
"Why are you always going on about stuff that doesn't matter?" Sakura yelled back, just as angrily. "I'm not a little kid anymore!" The room was bright and the pale yellow walls of the hallway were bare of all decoration, save for a picture commemorating Sakura's promotion to Chunin. An occasion on which, Sakura stopped to remember, she was extremely annoyed at her parents teasing and embarrassing her in front of the entire village. Her father had said something about how he didn't think she'd make it, considering how timid and afraid of everything she was. She snapped back to the present angrier than ever, and resumed walking away from her infuriating mother.
"Hold on!" Her mother yelled shrilly. "I'm not done talking to you!"
"Hmph." Sakura grunted. "Just stop butting into my life." She slammed the door and walked out into the night as her mom continued to yell behind her.
Running down the stairs, Sakura was surprised to nearly bump into Naruto who was just now walking by.
They stood there for a short moment, Naruto nearly blushing from being so close to Sakura all of a sudden. Naruto stammered out "H-Hey, Sakura." No matter his attempt to sound excited, his tone of voice was low and seemingly downtrodden.
Immediately, Sakura could tell that something was wrong with Naruto. She had almost forgotten about the argument she had with her mom until hearing, "Sakura, get back here!" as her mom burst out the front door. Just as quickly as she had forgotten her anger, she forgot her concern too. As enraged as before, she turned from her mother and grabbed Naruto forcefully by the wrist and yelled "Come on! You're going on a date with me, let's go!" She angrily dragged him away, thankful for the excuse to get away from her mom who had seemingly given up the fight at the sight of Naruto.
More nervous and afraid than he was excited, Naruto struggled to keep up with Sakura's pace. "U-Uh sure, okay. I'm up for some fun, but based on the way this date's starting-"
"Shut up!" Sakura shouted, silencing him. Naruto watched as her hand rapidly left his wrist and managed to slap him at the same time as she grabbed his ear, yanking him closer and causing him to shout out in pain.
His voice higher than usual in response to the sharp clenching on his ear, Naruto tried to yell out to Sakura again. "I'm pretty sure blowing off steam doesn't count as a date!" A nearby woman looked on, laughing silently to herself at the sight of the couple. "Hey, Sakura, let up!" Sakura's hold on Naruto had him feeling completely off balance and it was all he could do not to fall over into the dirt. The only response he got, however, was a tighter and tighter pinch on his ear.
She eventually let go, but the walk was quiet and awkward. The only noise between the two was random banter between people on the street and the sound of cats rummaging through trash cans in back alleys. They continued on walking side by side in silence until they reached the local playground, a spot Naruto had spent many of his pre-academy days in.
Naruto sat still on his swing with his eyes fixed on Sakura, who was standing on hers and using her hips to swing herself back and forth. Keeping his eyes on her, Naruto broke the silence. "Uh, Sakura? It sounded like your mom wanted you to come back."
Without looking at him, Sakura immediately replied. "It's best to leave her alone. She's always like this, butting in on every little thing you do and trying to tell you exactly how you should be doing it!" Naruto continued staring at her, slightly surprised by the rant. "And my dad is no better, either. Would it be so hard to take my side once in a while? But nooo! He always does whatever she says!" Naruto was still listening intently, but now felt conflicted with the situation. On one hand, he genuinely felt for Sakura and wanted to be there for her while she was upset. On the other hand, he couldn't help but think of her as an ungrateful child who complained about something that Naruto had only wished he could experience. "According to them, I'm a no good ninja with no shot at becoming a Jonin! Give me a break!" Sakura was gaining momentum in her speech and swinging faster and faster, as Naruto was growing more and more annoyed and less and less concerned.
"You know what?" He asked, easily ignored by the irate Sakura.
"Why couldn't I have different parents, ones who were capable of respect like everyone else's? I'd be better off without them." That was it. Sakura had no idea what she was talking about, and Naruto had no intention of letting her continue on.
Grinding his teeth together as his body tensed in anger, Naruto said to Sakura. "Okay I think you're going too far now."
Absolutely outraged by what she was hearing, Sakura jumped off her swing to turn and face Naruto. "What? Are you kidding me?! You're going to take their side?!" She screamed at him.
Standing up to face her, Naruto replied more calmly. "No, that's not what I'm saying-"
Unwilling to hear him, Sakura crossed her arms and cut him off. "Ugh. Why did it have to be you who's here with me right now?"
Naruto stopped mid thought. He knew what she was going to say, but all he could do was stand there and listen.
As she turned her back on him, Sakura sighed almost to herself. "If Sasuke were here, he'd definitely understand me…"
She might as well have stabbed him in the heart. It was a quick jolt, one that sent a quick surge of pain throughout Naruto's entire body. It always hurt when she talked about Sasuke, but this time was different. She was blatantly stating how she'd prefer to have Sasuke here over Naruto despite all he was trying to do for her, and that nullification of his efforts for her caused him more pain than most battles he had ever managed to endure.
He stood there for a minute, staring quietly down at the ground as Sakura brooded by herself. It was then that he noticed a bright mark glowing at his ankle and heard an all too familiar voice call out to him.
"It's been a while, Uzumaki Naruto." Madara was sitting with his legs and arms crossed on the other side of the park. The last time they met was in the Land of Iron, and Naruto had just learned of Sasuke's affiliation with the Akatsuki. He remembered talking with Madara and learning of Itachi's plight, but this time Naruto had no intention of listening to the masked man.
"Rasengan!" Naruto shouted as he leapt through the air. Dense as ever, he had forgotten about Madara's ability to phase through physical attacks and Naruto went flying into the chain link fence.
Madara laughed shortly to himself. "You never change." Hearing a woman shouting, Madara looked up to see Sakura raining down on him from above. Knowing her superhuman strength, he decided this was more trouble than it was worth and teleported away from her as she blew a crater in the ground.
Cracking her knuckles, Sakura turned to face the villain. "I won't let you attack our village!" She found herself standing directly in front of Naruto, aware that the Akatsuki intended on stealing the Kyuubi. Thinking to herself, she wasn't sure whether she meant to say she was defending the village or she was solely defending Naruto.
Unphased by her display of strength, Madara spoke to them. "This is unplanned, but it doesn't matter." He held a glass orb in his hand, and something about his chilling calm held Naruto and Sakura in place, neither willing to charge so recklessly at him again. They simply watched as he tossed the orb in the air, revealing a blood red moon they hadn't noticed before. In a flash of light, Naruto swore he saw the Rinnegan for a moment before being blinded and forced to look away.
"Madara! What are you-" He shouted, before being drowned out by Sakura's scream.
Hopelessly confused, Naruto and Sakura looked desperately for a trace of Madara, finding nothing.
"What? What was that? Where did he go? This is bad news…" Naruto stated loudly, obviously in a panic.
In a much more calm demeanor, Sakura turned to her teammate with worry shrouding her voice. "He could still be around here. We need to let everyone know!" They both turned to run from the park, finding Team Kurenai just outside the fence.
"Hey guys, what are you doing?" Kiba asked, more from formalities rather than curiosity.
"Perfect!" Naruto shouted. "You guys came at just the right time."
"We're in trouble." Sakura continued for Naruto. "Madara was just here."
Whatever reaction they were expecting, Team Kurenai gave anything but. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino all stared completely unaffected by this information.
"Hey, are you even listening?!" Naruto asked angrily, annoyed by the lack of a response.
Sounding a little defensive, Kiba replied "Yeah I'm listening, but… What do you mean by Madara? I don't get it." Kiba was absent mindedly picking his ear and busy looking at the earwax he pulled out.
"Grrr, this isn't the time for your stupid jokes!" Naruto was thrashing in place while screaming at Kiba, and so far neither Naruto or Sakura had managed to notice what was different about the trio. Naruto failed to notice the change in tattoos on Kiba's face due to his anger, and Sakura failed to notice Hinata's promiscuous outfit due to the fact that the kunoichi was unnervingly staring straight through Sakura's soul, it seemed. It wasn't until Akamaru ferociously bit Kiba and that they started arguing as if they hated each other that Naruto and Sakura really noticed that something was off. The fact that Hinata, the most timid girl in the Leaf, had threatened to kill Sakura for being alone with Naruto really sent home the idea. As Naruto and Sakura hurried to run away from the confusing, and quite frankly, scary situation they managed to run into another team from their childhood, team Asuma... And this team was just as strange as the last.
Shikamaru was fat and stupid, going on about food while Choji discouraged the thought. If this wasn't disturbing enough, the sight of Ino giggling and prancing up to the two of them like a little school sweetheart was enough to send shivers down their spines. Restraining Sakura from freaking out, Naruto pulled her away as Team 10 continued on their way, arguing about barbeque and money.
"That was… disturbing." Naruto said, his face buried in his hands. Sakura was sitting next to him on the stone staircase, right by the hokage monument. Sakura was staring off into the night sky as rain clouds came rolling in, and Naruto was furiously rubbing his forehead as he cried out "Urrrgh! I feel like I'm losing my mind!" Sakura tilted her head down lower and looked towards Naruto out of the corner of her eye. "I keep trying to release a genjutsu, but nothing's working!"
"I don't think this is a genjutsu, Naruto." Sakura said softly. "I think Madara used some kind of jutsu to pull us into a whole other world."
Sounding more despaired than ever, Naruto turned to face Sakura. "Ehhh? You really think that's possible?"
"Well, if this is really the Madara of legends, then anything's possible I guess." Sakura said as she rested her chin in her hands. She let herself get distracted and started trying to count the shining windows of the city, whose numbers seemed to rival that of the stars.
Naruto became distracted as well, not only by the starlit city but by Sakura too. The moon was still bright in the sky and Sakura looked as if she was glowing. Naruto had always known she was beautiful but something about her just seemed captivating tonight, as if he couldn't look away no matter how hard he tried. Not that he would want to look away, that is. You rarely ever see something so beautiful. He thought to himself. Sakura noticed him staring, and she felt herself getting warmer by the second as her face started glowing a bright red. She tilted her head away in an attempt to hide her blush and Naruto smiled slightly, thinking it cute when she got embarrassed.
"Yo." In an instant, the subtle aura between the two shattered like glass. That familiar voice knocked them to their feet with Naruto throwing himself in front of Sakura. I'll be damned if he hurts Sakura again, not while I'm here. Not this time! The animosity in both their faces and the weapons drawn clearly threw Sasuke back, who wasn't expecting this kind of reaction.
Throwing his hands up in the air and laughing nervously, Sasuke tried to ease the tension. "Hey hey, easy there! I meant to startle you, but I didn't think you would take it so personally!"
"Sasuke! What are you doing here?!" Naruto was shocked and afraid and didn't know how to react. By asking this he meant 'What are you doing in the village?' but Sasuke took it as 'What are you doing with Sakura and me right now?'
"Well I wanted to see my two best friends, but I didn't realize they were out on a date." Sasuke said, a hint of jealousy on his tongue as a slight pout took his face while he looked away. Sakura and Naruto eased up and looked at each other, even more surprised and confused than ever. Sasuke? Pouting? This really was a different world.
They turned back to see Sasuke staring straight at them. It wasn't until now that they noticed he looked… Well, laid back. Calm. There wasn't a darkness looming inside his eyes, and he was dressed in a t-shirt, jacket, and slacks, a very odd combination for someone who never seemed to be able to relax.
"Hmph. Well, whatever. Sorry I interrupted, Menma." Sasuke grunted out in usual demeanor. At least some things stayed the same.
"Eh? Menma?" Naruto looked appalled at the name, and burned a bright red remembering his outburst at the expense of Teuchi.
"Don't tell me I scared you so bad you forgot your own name?" Sasuke laughed. "Sakura, are you sure the hero's daughter should really be going out with a dunce like him?" Sasuke asked as he poked Naruto in the forehead, just like Itachi would do to him. Naruto only pouted and looked at Sasuke, and Sakura couldn't help but laugh. It felt a lot like when they were younger, when all of them would spend nearly every waking hour together.
Then Sasuke's taunt towards Naruto hit her. "Wait, hero's daughter?" Sakura asked, looking just as confused as she sounded.
Rolling his eyes, Sasuke lifted a lazy hand and pointed towards the monument while shrugging his shoulders back. "Don't tell me you're even denser than Menma. That's something I didn't think possible."
"Ah! Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, taking up his usual stance when standing off against his rival. Sakura ignored them both as she stared at the rock carving of her father, and the reality of what this meant sank in. In this world, her dad was the Yondaime. If he went the same way as the real Fourth Hokage, then that must mean her mom was gone as well. She took this surprisingly well for such traumatic news. After all, it wasn't really her world anyway.
Sasuke laughed his usual condescending tone before saying farewell. "Menma. Sakura." And in an instant he was gone, as fast on his feet as ever.
Sensing they were alone again, Naruto turned a bright shade of pink as he slid towards Sakura. Smiling mischievously, he nudged her with his elbow. "Eh, Sakura-chan! We're on a date, remember? You said so yourself, and now even Sasuke too!"
Turning from the statues, she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Naruto. Trying her hardest to sound annoyed and not excited she said "Oh? You call this a date and you still haven't taken me to dinner?" Naruto was beaming like an excited puppy, bouncing up and down on his heels. He could see the joy behind her eyes and Sakura knew it too, so she closed them and looked away.
"Don't worry, Sakura! I'm wayyy ahead of ya'!" Undeterred as he yelled this he grabbed her by the wrist and began his descent down the mountain, albeit leading her in a much more gentle fashion than she had done to him earlier.
"And it'd better be something other than ramen!" Sakura shouted as he led her along, disgusted at thought of being forced into Ichiraku again. Looking depressed all of a sudden, he stopped and turned around almost as if he wanted to convince her otherwise. Which didn't work, naturally, and he grudgingly agreed. As soon as his back was to her again Sakura allowed herself to smile, finding it almost adorable how worked up Naruto could get. She really did enjoy teasing him it seemed, this she came to realize as he led her to a familiar barbeque where Choji and Shikamaru sat laughing together in their usual corner. Not just to tease him for the sake of hurting his feelings, it seemed, but because she found that he was kinda cute almost. At least, when he would blush and pout like a puppy denied a treat. Sakura found that this made her feel strangely powerful when she had Naruto wrapped around her finger like this. Throughout the night, Sakura continued to tease Naruto about his mannerisms too; From the way he sat to the way he ate. If they were gonna go on a date together, she was determined to make a proper man out of him while there.
When it came time to pay the bill, she half expected Naruto to have forgotten his wallet. Thankfully, he pulled out a wad of cash and left a hearty tip to the waitress. She smiled unconsciously, happy to see how kind Naruto was to even complete strangers. When he turned to see her staring affectionately at him, Naruto immediately looked away. She wasn't sure who was more embarrassed by the exchange, but was almost certain that Choji was eyeing the pair from around the corner. What gave it away was his face as he whipped his head around the corner, fast enough to hit Shikamaru across the table with his hair. For a second she worried about Hinata and having to deal with her again (a strange thought that was hard to think). None of that mattered, however, when she looked up to see Naruto offering a hand to help her up. She expected him to let go of her hand once she was on her feet, but he didn't. She thought about pulling her hand away and was even about to do so, until she caught herself making eye contact with Choji. He was smiling, happy to see the couple together, and she found herself smiling too. Why should she pull her hand away?
Sakura had never stayed out this late before. Her mother would have killed her for anything past 9 and here it was, 11 o clock at night. So far there hadn't been any search parties razing the city looking for her, so Sakura thought to herself Maybe I can enjoy a little more time with this idiot instead of going home. She was sure to slide a small, affectionate glance towards the taller figure. However, nature had other plans. The rain clouds that had been moving in finally took hold and let loose a torrential downpour that suddenly engulfed all of Konoha.
"Ack, are you kidding me? I hate the rain!" Sakura blurted out as the icy water hit her skin. As she raised her hands above her head, she felt a soft thread envelop her. Looking over she saw that Naruto had quickly removed his jacket and thrown it on top of her head.
"Well, it's not much of an umbrella, but I hope you don't mind Sakura. I thought it might help." Whatever confidence Naruto had when he took his jacket off was quickly lost when he met Sakura's bright green eyes. She blushed again, but this time wasn't the one to look away as Naruto lost his composure and threw his eyes to the ground. She smiled and let out a laugh as she started running through the rain, with Naruto trailing close behind her.
Things didn't get awkward until they had reached Sakura's front door. In all reality, this had been a serious date. The first between Naruto and Sakura and their first in general. Neither of them knew what to do now that it was ending.
"So, uh.. Heh." Naruto laughed nervously. He was rubbing the back of his head while Sakura played with her fingers behind her back. Naruto's jacket was still draped around her shoulders. Sakura began tapping her toes on the ground behind her and looked away from Naruto, trying to hide the fact that she was blushing profusely. She would never admit it, but deep down she wanted to end tonight with a kiss from Naruto. It was the weirdest feeling, how her annoying, idiotic teammate could make her feel so flustered. She didn't understand it, and she didn't understand when she had started thinking like this. God, I feel like such a little girl right now.
Naruto started growing bolder once he realized she was even more nervous than he was. He had always dreamed of taking Sakura on a real date, and now he was alone with her in front of her house for real. He had talked with Jiraiya before about girls and dates but he had never really listened. In truth, it was always just Jiraiya trying to force unwanted knowledge on to Naruto. Now he really wished he had listened to the pervy sage but, on the other hand… maybe he didn't need to. Naruto felt a burning in his gut, unlike anything he'd felt before. One that felt fuzzy and warm as it slowly wound its way through his veins until it had encompassed his entire body. Almost on instinct, his legs started moving on their own taking one, two, three steps toward Sakura. He tugged on his jacket, bringing it closer around her. She looked up slowly, unable to force her most basic instincts down. Sakura had brought her hands in front of her and held them in front of her chest, fighting the urge to place on Naruto's. A fiery tension began to burn between them at his touch, blotting out the cold night air and bringing all attention down to her. She looked him up and down, her eyes slowing at his lips before moving to meet his own. Instead of making eye contact however, she instead found him looking at her forehead with narrow eyes.
I don't understand why she used to be so self-conscious about her forehead, or why Ino had to always make fun of her. Naruto thought. It hurt to think that she of all people would be made fun of. I dunno what it is, but I just find it so damn cute is all. As he thought this, he raised his hand slowly. She looked at his fingers, which were nicely trimmed and cleaned, and tensed as he ran them through her hair and traced his thumb across her brow.
My forehead. My forehead is huge! Sakura suddenly found herself feeling as insecure as she did years ago at Naruto's touch, and all her thoughts of affection quickly switch to anxiety and self inhibitions. With Naruto so close staring down at her, she was sure that a comment about her billboard brow was about to come forth. She looked away quickly as her face burned brighter than ever, and her thoughts turned to her dad. Oh no... I can't let my dad come out and see me so close to a boy this late at night, especially not with Naruto!
She turned her back to Naruto, leaving him hopelessly disappointed while she stammered out an anxious "Th-thanks for the dinner, Naremna- Memnato- NARUTO!" She screamed out. Oh my God. I sound like an idiot. At this utter embarrassment she opened the door and ran inside as fast as her feet would carry her, slamming it behind her. Leaning her back against the door, she tried to catch her breath. She closed her eyes and could almost swear she could see Naruto's pouty face as he turned and walked home, whispering quietly to himself. "Goodnight, Sakura-chan." She opened her eyes and turned them towards the photo on the wall, the same one commemorating her promotion to Chunin. Slowly coming to the realization that she was alone in the picture, she remembered that there was absolutely no chance of her dad catching her outside with anyone at all. Coming back to her senses she remembered that this was Naruto, her teammate, the kindest person in the leaf. He would never insult her forehead or anything about her body. Slapping herself hard on the forehead, she slid to the ground and yelled out "Idiot!".
She sat for a moment, realizing how cold it was inside her dark home. She pulled Naruto's jacket tighter around her without thinking- "Ah! Naruto's jacket..." She mumbled out loud. In all her bluster, she had forgotten to give it back for him to take home.
Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as I can, what with school and work and inspiration to write and all. Please, leave a review and let me know what you think! I'm sure there are ways for me to keep improving and I'll only get there faster with your help.